Talk:Green Passport
Hi Daniel, This is great! Thanks for setting this up. Now, is this page open to the whole wide world? Our comments can be seen by anybody, correct? What about logging in, I see this is not required to post a comment. Take care and travel with your Green Passport! 152.2.248.114 15:20, 14 December 2007 (UTC)Rodney Responses to Rodney Thanks Rodney for trying this out. Yes anyone can see what we write, but currently our security is our obscurity. I doubt many if any will find us. I DO encourage you to create a log-in so we can easily see who posts and makes changes. I'm not sure I would have seen that you made a comment however if you didn't send an email even though I have set up the page on my "watchlist" (maybe I didn't have the Discussion page on my watchlist...). I'll check this out as we need to be able to stay on top of correspondences. response to Daniel Hi Daniel, I created my account and now I am logged in. A comment and a question: from the main ecovillage wiki page, it does not seem possible to find the green passport section, or at least I could not. Can we create a link to the GP there eventually? Another Q: Should we begin to create our profiles under the section About Us? Rodney Hi Rodney, I don't see this wiki developing into the eventual GP site. I see it as a playground for us to experiment with the structure and internal links. Right now, I think it is a good thing that we are obscure. And I'm not sure these pages will every be worth linking to as they are really are work space. Similarly, I don't see a need to update our profiles unless you are interested in learning more about how these work. Have you create this page as a "watched" page? I'm not sending an email in addition as an experiment.... - Daniel responses Hi Rodney, I don't see this wiki developing into the eventual GP site. I see it as a playground for us to experiment with the structure and internal links. Right now, I think it is a good thing that we are obscure. And I'm not sure these pages will every be worth linking to as they are really are work space. Similarly, I don't see a need to update our profiles unless you are interested in learning more about how these work. Have you create this page as a "watched" page? I'm not sending an email in addition as an experiment.... - Daniel Green Passport Online Model Development and Ideas from Daniel, Rodney, Sherry discussion on Dec. 12, 2007 Visual representation: turnable-page guidebook that looks like a passport Part 1: Hook in the students. Why should they sign up for a GP? Action item: Craft a message that speaks to them. You’re GREEN, but now you’re about to study abroad—and the impact of your air travel alone will negate all the good practices you do on a daily basis like recycling, composting, turning off light switches, taking short showers. Sidebar: Did you know? Only 5% of the world’s population has ever flown in a plane. Do you want to make a POSITIVE DIFFERENCE for the planet and its people? Are you ready to leave the world a better place? If your answer is YES! become a Green Passport holder today, and join your fellow students in taking the pledge to go green. The Green Passport is your entry to becoming a citizen of the world. It’s easier than you think to minimize your impact on the environment, act in culturally respectful ways, and engage with locals and your host community. And, what’s more, a greener experience is a more rewarding experience abroad for you—and for everyone else on the planet! BENEFITS of becoming a Green Passport holder include: •Free membership •Tools to help you measure and reduce your carbon emissions •Carbon offsets provided by Living Routes •A growing network of Green Passport holders •A MyGreenPassport space: you’ll have a blog to share your stories and photos, and a page for your videos and podcasts. •A "Green Mentor"—an alumnus of the program will support and encourage you. Signing up takes less than 5 minutes: Join Now! Part 2: Signing up & making the Pledge Students will fill in a short form with their information, and they will agree to the GP pledge. A rough model currently exists at: http://www.abroadview.org/green/pledge.htm. This should be refined. Information will be collected in database. Part 3: Once they’ve signed up, navigation takes them automatically to their own page/dashboard. There they have option to do any of the following: 1. Click onto Living Routes carbon calculator to determine their emissions (total carbon to be used will appear on GP holder’s personal user page; then onto Living Routes Count Down Your Carbon calculator. They’ll have a list of actions that they can take while abroad to offset their carbon. Living Routes software will generate reminders and prompts to GP holders to do what they said they’d do. As they count down their carbon and check off the corresponding worksheet on their user page, their carbon expenditure number will decrease on their user page (at end of experience, remainder of carbon emitted will be offset). 2. Start their blog and upload their photo (this automatically pops up on collective map) As they take positive actions, they’ll be awarded points…recognition (this won’t necessarily translate to being a “better” GP holder, but we’d like to acknowledge these students by plunking some type of icon (“visas” // “Brownie badges”) onto their pages—vegetarian badge, transportation badge, electricity badge, etc. (these may correspond to Forum threads). 3. Invite friends to join the Green Passport program 4. Go directly to main page (Welcome to your world page) Part 3: Welcome to your world! Graphic representation: Google world map that shows the current year of GP holders studying abroad (as mouse passes over, the pins pop up with profile and photo of each student). Additional online features: Forum/Discussion Board with threads (regional and topical…like Lonely Planet’s Thorntree) Reentry component: Returning GP holders stay involved as mentors, train pre-departure students, coordinate on-campus events, encourage universities to create a 1- or 2-credit course that support students in articulating their experience (broader than GP…but incorporating a sustainability component). SherrySchwarz 02:32, 16 December 2007 (UTC) response to Daniel Thanks, this is a good plan to practice on this section. I was just wondering if there was another entrance to the GP section, other than using the direct link that you gave us, because when I log in and I find myself in the general ecovillage wiki, I have no way of getting to the GP section. But, given this is just for practice, that is fine. Rvargas8 15:14, 16 December 2007 (UTC)Rodney Ideas from Shop Green Passport (Ithaca) Astrid introduced us to Ithaca (town of) "Shop Green Passport" and she scanned its cover and inside the brochure. It prompted the following discussion in Dec. 07: Rodney writes: Thanks for letting us know Shop Green Passport. Maybe we can try to implement some of their ideas into our project. For example, if a student does certain "green" actions from the list we provide, we can award them a stamp. When they collect 5 stamps then they get some recognition. If they collect 10 stamps, they go through an express line at the airport when they return home :) Astrid: I think that this suggestion is related to what we originally proposed for the GP. We should think of a list of small actions students can do to get their green stars/stamps. There is a student at IC who might be interested in working on this. A student perspective might be helpful. The challenge would be who would award the stamps... And, of course, the prizes - but we might be able to get some corporate sponsors to jump on board (companies that sell "sustainable travel products"). More food for thought.... Sherry's response to Astrid: Currently, in addition to the pledge, we have a list of suggested actions listed on our GP site: http://www.abroadview.org/green/get_passport.htm However, I *think* what Astrid mentions as the "small actions students can do to get their green stars/stamps" is what Daniel is working on for the LR Carbon Reduction Calculator. Much like the scanned Shop Green Passport Astrid sent with the column of stores with a box next to each to check off is what Daniel and I discussed for each GP holder's user page. If they have a list on the page with a tickable box next to each action. Daniel foresees tying this into the Carbon Reduction Calculator so that each time a student checks off that he's done one of these actions, his carbon footprint reduces. Ideally, this carbon emissions amount would appear on the student's user page and we'd literally see it reduce. Speaking of the Carbon Reducation Actions & Calculator... I spoke to one of Middlebury’s IT people today (Joe Antonioli). He suggested that as we develop the GP program with its pledge and carbon reduction actions/calculator via Living Routes, we may want to create an application that can be plugged into Facebook, giving the students on Facebook already the option to join and do this as part of their Facebook profile so that they don't need to also have a separate user page with us if they don't want to. Rodney's response to Astrid: OK, now you got me thinking. Let's say that our number one priority with the GP is to offset the carbon emissions. Then, students that are traveling with the GP would have to get that taken care of first. If Living Routes funds this, then we are all set. If not, we need to write some proposals. Our second priority would be to offer incentives for the students. One way to do this is to get some sponsors on board. We can have two sets or two levels of sponsors. One set could include the "third party study abroad providers" and the other set could be made of local businesses. So, when little Jimmy from Ithaca goes for a spring semester abroad in Costa Rica and he is carrying his virtual GP provided by the Abroad View Foundation, then LR pays to offset his carbon emissions, the School for Field Studies provides a 10% discount in his tuition, and the Ithaca local businesses award him discount coupons to use in their shops when he returns home. All these sponsors can have their logos in the GP website. I can see some national chains such as Wholefoods offering some coupons, who knows? If this works, then we could eventually have the third party providers sort of incentives. More discussion is needed, of course, but I think we are on to something. Your comments are highly appreciated as always! Daniel Greenberg wrote: Thanks Rodney and Astrid for pushing the edges...Rodney, I like your ideas, but also think we need to be careful about not making the GP seem in any way "commercial" as I think it is counter to its core mission and could lead to some backlash. Students that would be drawn to the GP are already pretty savvy about these issues. For example, it's not uncommon for students to come to our information tables at study abroad fairs and ask why we've traveled so far just to talk with them. I'm also nervous about offering "extrinsic" incentives for students to become GP holders beyond things that will actually help them travel more lightly. I'm open to changing my mind on this, but that's my initial take. I also think, while offsetting carbon emissions is important, our first priority should be to REDUCE them wherever possible. And in order to reduce them, we first need to measure them. I think some of you have already seen this, but I've started to developed a CO2 Commitment Calculator that would allow folks - after they've measured their emissions - to commit to NEW actions that would then reduce their carbon footprint. You can see our first draft at: http://www.livingroutes.org/carbon_calculator.html The problem is, most of these actions are not really relevant to study abroad students, so I made a shorter list (and included some simplified calculations for measuring emissions) for Sherry to include in the next AbroadView magazine and will attach that here as well. We're experimenting with this on our own programs this Fall. My hope is that it will evolve and expand over time as students play with it and perhaps even conduct research on specific actions. Ideally, this process will... >> >> * Help educate students around their environmental impacts >> * Engage them around making real changes that make a difference >> * Reduce/Offset some or all of the CO2 from their study abroad >> experience >> * Save us money as there would be less remaining CO2 for us to >> offset If LR does end up offsetting remaining emissions from GP holders, I think I would like to require this step before we jump in. My sense is that there would be no minimum actions that students would need to commit to, but I think they should at least have to go through the process. Thoughts, ideas? Rodney wrote: I just wanted to let you know that I totally agree with the fact that we do not want to go with the "comercial" route for the GP. I wanted to throw those ideas and put them on the table, merely for discussion and given the business passport idea that is taking place in Ithaca. I think that, unfortunately, some students do need incentives before making changes in their behavior, but we still need to determine what the best ones are. Your CO2 Calculator project seems fantastic. I will take a closer look at it and get back to you. Thanks for sharing it! Astrid: I went downtown yesterday and picked up a Shop Green Passport. I'll scan a copy of it tomorrow and send it to you so you can see what the "hard copy" looks like. I think they're on to something, though two complaints I have would be 1) there is no educational information on the passport and 2) it does encourage shopping, i.e. material consumption. There are 15 businesses participating. If one gets stamps from 4 of them (by spending over $10) one gets entered into a lottery to win prizes. So, this has all got me thinking. I agree that we should not be encouraging materialism. So... here's what I can imagine at the moment... A study abroad student who is a Green Passport holder would agree to do one of several recommended actions. Here are some that come to mind: - Carbon Offset ALL their study abroad related travels - Volunteer in their host country at an org. with a social or env'tal mission (at least 40 hours per semester) - Give a presentation in the host country reg. the State of the Earth (we could put one together that they could use as a template) - Do research on a particular subject related to sustainbility (like the IC-OIP Global Footprint Grant) and give a presentation when they return to their college reg. their findings - Educate their program provider and help them to implement change in some way - Plant trees? - Stay in a certified "eco-lodge" or accomodation - Make a monetary donation to an org. while overseas - Make at least 3 entries to the GP blog while overseas THEN, when they have a signature that attests to the fact that they completed one of these actions (which seems doable) they would be rewarded by having their name entered into a lottery. The winner would have a donation made on their behalf by an org. like Heifer Int'l (who give animals to individuals overseas to start businesses) or a number of other worthy orgs. that are doing good in terms of helping the world's poor or the environment. Or, if we get enough willing orgs., all students who complete their action could have some donation made on their part. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Obviously, this would take some time to develop in terms of fostering relationships with relevant organizations but it seems like it might have great potential for educational purposes and I have the sense students might be proud to have a donation made on their behalf (esp. in the case where the recipient of the donation would be made aware of the student). Sherry: Yes, Astrid, I couldn't agree more!! I love your list of ideas and will refer back to these as we update the website and as we all develop the language/commitments of GP. About the incentives, from my work with students and the contests we run, I've learned incentives unfortunately, or fortunately, help motivate students. Your idea of donations brings the discussion back to the consensus we reached at the NAFSA Conference last May. We said, rather than making awards/incentives materialistic/consumer goods for the benefit of the students, we could award them “donations” on their behalf. This would take much consideration, but to use Rodney’s example of “Johnny” from Ithaca, if Johnny returns having reduced his carbon footprint by 60%, maybe Company X or Individual Donor X (whether local or national) provides X dollars in his name to the organization he choose from a list that we’ve carefully researched and provided (Heifer is great, as you said, Wildlife Defense Fund, etc.). Our list, like the list of shops, can have a brief explanation about each organization with a link to its website so that students research and learn more about the organization before making their decision (keeping the educational focus). OR, we could consider asking the GP students to help us by identifying an organization(s) in need in their host community. We can then develop a list of vetted organizations that students can donate their “award” to, and this would also help them complete the pledge point of giving back to their host community (even though they are giving materially and not through actual work/volunteering; but, maybe the fact of encouraging them to seek out such organizations will actually plant the seed of 'maybe I can volunteer for this organization' while I am in country!). A wiki could be a good platform to invite the students to “pitch” an organization on behalf of their host community, so that we can then review them and have a complete document with options worldwide for students. I am thinking, for example, of Maji who is studying in Ecuador and working with two nonprofit organizations to which she might be really excited to make a donation. Astrid: It seems to me that the concept of the GP as we envision it could be of interest to orgs. like Sustainable Travel International and the International Ecotourism Society and potentially even stores like REI, Patagonia, etc. that cater to the travel market and are trying to prove themselves to be "green". (They could also be involved by providing discounts for their products to people who have completed a GP action). So, maybe we should more seriously think about copyrighting (or trademarking), though I have NO idea what that entails. Out of curiousity I just looked in the US Patent and Trademark Office and searched for GP - the Nigerian film group has already trademarked the term! We could call it the Green Passport Program - or The Responsible Traveler's Green Passport. Any thoughts or knowledge on this subject? Daniel: Lots of good thinking Astrid. I look forward to seeing the Shop Green Passport. A few random comments: * I like giving students options for eco-actions. I think we're already doing this, but it could be expanded and my memory is that they are not currently required of GP holders. * A related idea would be to offer specific incentives for each action. For example, Living Routes would be willing to offset travel emissions for any GP holder who goes through the process of measuring and reducing their emissions (like I described in an earlier email). * Perhaps we could fundraise for a matching grant fund that could double student donations to environmental organizations. * If they choose to do a presentation, we could offer template powerpoints and/or sample flyers/emails they could use to advertise the event... * I think it might be useful to start a dialogue with some environmental stores like REI and Patagonia, but perhaps hold off on creating actual "offers" until we have a bit more experience with what students are most interested in and are most likely to actually do. * I think copyrighting would be a prudent measure. Astrid, are you saying the Nigerian Film Group has a patent on "Green Passport" in the U.S.? I thought copyright was a state-by-state thing. Perhaps one of us could contact them to see how they are using the term and whether they would be upset with us using it (or maybe sharing the copyright - if that is even possible). If not, I think "The Green Passport Program" sounds good. Astrid: - GP holders do, I believe, currently have to agree to take certain actions (though they are perhaps fairly passive actions through their "commitments"). I think more forthright actions are what we want. - Related incentives would make sense... Maye we could find one sponsor for each action, that is relevant in the work that they do. - Matching grants would be super! This could be something that REI could offer as an award, as well. - Templates would certainly be helpful for students and would ensure that they are giving accurate information. I was envisioning them in school classrooms or at already organized events, so they wouldn't have to promote too much, but certainly promotional material could be considered. - Starting a dialogue with REI, TIES, STI, etc. would be lovely. Who's got the time??? I am hoping to have a bit more time on my hands next semester and certainly in January so it's something I would be willing to investigate. I might want a conference call before hand to make sure we're all on the same page. - The Nigerian film group has TRADEMARKED Green Passport (as opposed to a copyright). I think a phone call to them would also be worth it since we are clearly dealing with two distinct ideas (though not wholly unrelated....) I'm also willing to do this down the line... If anyone has time sooner, lemme know. Sherry: I agree with Astrid on all abovementioned points. I am not on board with Trademarking, but in part because I can't really take this on as a separate program for all travelers. I'd like to work on the Green Passport Program as part of our educational objective with international education students. I do have colleagues within the Educational Travel Community (ETC), which is for non-student travelers of all ages, and if we were successful at this level, perhaps it could be applicable to them, but I feel I'd be spread much too thin if I tried to work on this as a nationwide program for all travelers, all sectors. If someone else can, I am not opposed to trademarking, but here are my thoughts on that: —I do not think we actually have to trademark “Green Passport.” First, all the main GreenPassport.com/org website URLs are taken, which doesn’t bode well for a trademark being available; secondly, unless I am not dreaming big enough I see our GP as falling in the realm of international education rather than for all travelers at large. Third, if you can establish/prove you’ve been doing business for a set amount of time with a certain name, you can usually claim it legally as your own. I researched this for Abroad View and Transitions Abroad, neither of which were trademarked. Also, trademarking is a lengthy and expensive process. I hope we may all agree this is not necessary. Sherry's recap of 12/21 Hi Sherry and all, Thanks for a very well written recap of our latest discussions and steps. I really think that we are making huge strides forward with the GP project, no matter where we end up hosting the student's passports. It has been a good year and it has been a great honor to be part of this incredibly energetic team! Thanks for everything you all do. I am sure that next year will be even better, given all the efforts from everyone, including the students. So, have a safe and green Holidays! Rvargas8 17:47, 21 December 2007 (UTC)Rodney